•Local performance indicators are aggregated to management system indicators.•Performance deviations on site level are allocated to plants or plant sections.•The aggregation method facilitates the ...verification of energy efficiency improvements.•The method is demonstrated on an industrial use case.•The aggregated indicators fulfill the requirements of ISO 50001:2018.
The mitigation of the climate change requires a significant reduction of the fossil energy consumption in all industrial sectors. The implementation of formalized management systems supports the industry to continuously improve the energy performance which is measured using so called “Energy Performance Indicators”. One essential requirement for the evaluation is the correction of these indicators and the corresponding baselines by the influences of external static or dynamic factors, e.g. the ambient conditions, the product spectrum or the plant load. This is in particular difficult for large integrated production sites as e.g. in the chemical industry. In this contribution, an aggregation method is proposed to exploit the analysis of the factors on lower hierarchical layers for the evaluation of the performance of an aggregated domain. Thereby, the resulting aggregated indicator and the corresponding baseline consider all the identified factors from the lower layers, which facilitates the analysis and allocation of possible savings potentials. The concept is applied exemplarily to an integrated chemical production site and the contributions of each plant to the deviation of the energy performance of the site are analyzed. The method facilitates the verification of the improvement of the energy performance as required by ISO 50001:2018 and helps decision makers to prioritize investments in energy efficiency projects. The results can be used for discussions with policy-makers, certification bodies and other stakeholders on energy efficiency targets.
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•The most promising composition is based on 90% of filter cake and of 10% oil.•Threshold temperatures were 900 °C for puffing and 1050 °C for micro-explosion.•Child droplet to parent ...drop size ratio ranged from 0.07 to 0.12 mm.•Liquid surface areas grew 8–15 times due to the micro-explosion.•Fuel efficiency indicator became >4 times higher due to the micro-explosion.
The findings of experimental research into the environmental and energy performance indicators characterizing the combustion of promising coal-water slurries based on the coal processing waste (filter cake), rapeseed oil, and water are presented. The relative environmental, economic, and energy characteristics of their combustion are compared with those of coal. The most promising composition in terms of environmental characteristics and relative indicators is based on 90% of filter cake N (wet) and 10% of rapeseed oil. A composition is also identified that sustainably undergoes the intense micro-explosive fragmentation: it is based on 9% of filter cake N (dry), 10% of water, and 81% of rapeseed oil. The micro-explosive fragmentation of the parent drop provides a significant increase in the slurry surface area. This increases the heat release per unit time due to fuel burnout. We establish the regimes, threshold conditions, and outcomes of droplet micro-dispersion with varying temperature in a wide range (200–1100 °C) typical of the so-called low-temperature fuel combustion. This regime is generally considered the most environmentally friendly, i.e., producing the least anthropogenic emissions. Using the research findings, we calculate the size distributions of child droplets, the ratios of their average size to the original size of the parent droplet, the evaporation surface areas, and the external surface area of the resulting aerosol cloud. The combustion of coal-water slurries containing petrochemicals can produce less anthropogenic emissions due to the presence of water in the component composition and through the micro-explosive fragmentation of droplets.
Energy management is the most prominent means of improving energy efficiency, and improved energy efficiency constitutes the cornerstone in decarbonization. For successful industrial energy ...management, defining accurate energy performance indicators (EnPIs) is essential. Energy-intensive industries have previously been found to have an improvement potential regarding the current monitoring of EnPIs, especially at process level. While general models for developing and implementing EnPIs exist, manufacturing industries are diverse in terms of their production processes, which is why industry-tailored models for EnPI development are needed. One major outcome of this paper is a unique model specifically tailored for kraft pulp mills. The model derives from a practice-based approach for EnPI development, building on real-life experiences from a Swedish group of companies. This paper’s developed model, and the validation of the EnPIs, further increase the understanding of the kraft pulp industry’s processes and how to apply descriptive and explanatory indicators. The developed model can potentially be generalized to other sectors.
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•The paper studies energy performance indicators for industrial energy management.•A model for energy performance indicator development in kraft mills is provided.•The model is harmonized with the ISO 50001 standard.•The model encourages organizational learning.•Energy monitoring detects optimization potentials of kraft mill processes.
Energy intensity is a commonly used key performance indicator (KPI) for the energy performance of production processes and often serves as an Energy Performance Indicator (EnPI). The energy ...performance of a process depends on a variety of factors like capacity utilization, ambient temperature and operational performance. Understanding the influence of these factors on the relevant KPI or EnPI helps to distinguish between influenceable and non-influenceable contributions and to identify the improvement potential. By describing the best historically observed performance as a function of the non-influenceable factors, valuable information on the efficiency of the current operation of a plant and the improvement potential is provided to plant managers and operators. In this contribution, a method is proposed to identify a surrogate performance model for the attainable energy performance considering the relevant factors. The modeling method is based solely on the evaluation of historical process data and employs a novel combination of known surrogate modeling techniques using clustering, model fitting and model simplification by backward elimination. The method is applied to real process data of a large industrial production plant and the use of the model for process performance monitoring and reporting in accordance with energy management system requirements is illustrated and discussed.
•Influencing factors are identified for the evaluation of the energy performance.•The best observed operation is determined, which reveals energy savings potentials.•A verification of performance improvements is facilitated by comprehensive baselines.•The data-driven modeling approach is shown to be efficient in the industrial context.
Energy demand represents a global challenge that calls for innovative energy solutions. Road lighting contributes in a small part to the overall worldwide electricity consumption, however the ...possibilities for energy saving are numerous. The road lighting should provide the required lighting quality, in the most energy efficient way as possible.
In this paper the Authors analyze, compare and discuss the numerical indicators currently used to evaluate the lighting and the energy performance of new-designed and existing road lighting systems. To support the discussion, the use of the case study of road lighting of the historic town center of Pisa is proposed. For the case study the Authors have chosen a significant sample of 20 roads representative of 80 similar roads located in the historic town center. For the sample, geometric surveys, luminance and illuminance measurements, calculation of the national and international energy performance indicators have been carry out. The considerations made by the Authors, obtained with an investigation procedure of general validity, are useful to point out strengths and weaknesses of each indicator and to provide suggestions on the use of the appropriate indicators during the design stage of road lighting systems.
•A review of energy performance indicators for road lighting systems is proposed.•Four different indicators, valid at international and Italian levels, are analyzed.•To support the discussion, the case study of the public lighting of Pisa is used.•To evaluate the indicators a systematic procedure based on in situ measurements is used.•Strengths/weaknesses of each indicators and critical issues in their use are highlighted.
Measuring and targeting energy performances of manufacturing plants and their subsystems is the first, critical step to understand their energy behavior, to identify energy management opportunities ...and to evaluate energy savings. In addition, this activity has become always more important in the last decades, as Energy Management Systems and energy management practices based on continuous improvement and people engagement have been largely adopted, requiring the introduction of new energy consumption control systems capable to identify the standard operative energy behavior and performance of systems and machines and their energy baseline, to point out contingent deviations of energy performances from the baseline and to identify possible causes and clearly attribute responsibilities of such deviations. In this context, several attempts have been presented in literature trying to identify methods to create Energy Performance Indicators so as to satisfy these requirements, but most of them are focused either on a physical or on economical definition of the problem (and therefore either on a process/appliance level or on an aggregated level), neglecting the necessity to develop an integrated system to combine those two approaches to the problem and deliver appropriate information to each hierarchical level and function of the company. In addition, even when these indicators are identified, a proper system to monitor and control their evolution over time is neglected. In this paper, a novel methodology to manage Energy Performance by developing, analyzing and maintaining Energy Performance Indicators in manufacturing plants is presented, which has been created to fill this gap and taking into account ISO 50001:2011 and ISO 50006:2014 requirements, in order to be as general and widely applicable as possible. The proposed methodology allows an immediate identification of manufacturing plant's energy performance deviations through Energy Performance Indicators monitoring over time and an easy association of causes and responsibilities to such deviations, in order to allow companies to rapidly react defining action plans and resetting targets if necessary; it has also been validated through an industrial case study, which will eventually be presented.
•A methodology to manage Energy Performance in manufacturing plants is proposed.•The methodology is based on the use of statistical tools.•The methodology allows to set and deploy clear energy objectives and targets and to assign responsibilities.•Different tools to visually manage and control energy performances are proposed.•The case study of an Italian manufacturing plant is described.
•Energy efficiency results reduce the carbon footprint of wine.•Sankey diagrams show the significant energy uses for wine production.•Capstone projects and a transdisciplinary analysis were carried ...out.
Energy efficiency is an aspect highly related to the sustainability and competitiveness in the medium and long term of any company. This paper describes the theoretical and technical generalities of some case studies related to wine-producing companies located in the Guadalupe Valley, Mexico, which began the implementation of an energy management system based on ISO 50001 to optimize the use of energy and minimize the carbon footprint of its products (wine). The framework for these Capstone Projects and the multi-year energy balance analysis using Sankey diagrams are presented to determine the Energy Performance Indicators and Significant Energy Uses. In addition, considering the experiences gained in these projects, a transdisciplinary analysis is carried out to strengthen the sustainable life cycle of the wine based on resource efficiency as the main element from a circular economy approach.
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This article aims to investigate the impact exerted by different types of covering an atrium with glazing on the energy performance of a kindergarten building, provided by the authors as a conceptual ...design. The considered types of atria included an open atrium, a glazed atrium, and an atrium that operated as a hybrid system. Additionally, the following aspects were taken into consideration: the effect of a glazing-integrated PV system (BIPV); the variety of thermal features represented by the inner boundary between the conditioned and the unconditioned space (Uiu); and the atrium space air-exchange ratio (nue) on the energy balance of the building. Energy performance indicators, including energy demands for space heating and cooling (Eu), delivered energy (Ed), and primary energy (Ep) indicators for heating and cooling mode were estimated for the moderate climates and two locations of the building model, i.e., for Warsaw (Central Poland) and Ahlbeck (Northern Germany). The research results prove that the glazed atrium exerts the most beneficial impact on the energy performance of the building. Nevertheless, certain variables must be considered, especially the air-exchange ratio of the atrium space, as they significantly influence the total annual energy performance. The results obtained with regard to the effect exerted by the presence of BIPV systems differ from those usually expected. This is due to the effect of the total solar-energy-transmittance value (g) modulation caused by the system and, finally, by a significant reduction in passive solar-gain harvesting, which is important for heating-mode results in examined climate conditions. Taking the present analysis into account, it can be concluded that the energy and environmental effects of the glazed integrated PV systems in temperate climates are strongly influenced by the environmental conditions, and, in some cases, these solutions may prove to be not efficient enough in terms of the energy and costs.
In this work, a novel methodology to assess energy performance indicators of productive and economic sectors trough the analysis of the Italian mandatory energy audits database is presented. The ...updating of sectoral reference energy performance indicators is fundamental for both companies and policy makers—for the formers to evaluate and compare their energy performance with competitors in order to achieve improvements and for the latter to effectively monitor the impact of energy policies. This methodology could be potentially applied to all production sectors, providing key information needed to characterize various production processes from an energy point of view. Awareness of energy efficiency and sectorial benchmarking represent the first necessary steps for companies moving towards energy transition. This paper provides details of the statistical method developed and its application to the NACE 23 division “Manufacturing of other non-metallic mineral products”, with a focus on the cement industry. For this sector, results are presented in terms of specific indicators based on energy source. General results, methodological insights, and validation of the proposed case study are discussed.
•Reduction of leakage is a priority since it increase cities resiliency and sustainability.•A management strategy based on an innovative index is proposed.•The strategy was verified by optimization ...analyses on the model of a real district network.
Leakage reduction in water distribution networks is an absolute priority and several pressure management strategies have been proposed in the literature to tackle this issue. However, the definition of an effective relationship between leakage and relevant and measurable parameters still represents a challenge.
This paper presented a novel performance parameter, the Leakage Performance Index (LPI), to minimize leakages starting from pressure and flow rate measurements. This parameter creates a ranking among the different nodes in the network, by properly weighting the pressure of each node with the output flow from the node in order to focus the pressure management strategy on those nodes whose impact, in terms of leakage, is expected to be greater.
To verify the effectiveness of the proposed LPI, a model of an existing water distribution district in Italy was developed in EPAnet and validated by comparison with experimental results. The valve settings of the model were then used as variables of time-dependent optimization procedures aimed at minimizing different objective functions. Different scenarios were considered by varying the minimum guaranteed pressure at the customer points.
The LPI minimization strategy was efficient insofar as it indirectly minimized the leakages, achieving the same results of the leakage minimization strategy.
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